TRT Banned For Use By Fighters In State Of Nevada

The Nevada Athletic Commission passed a motion to ban therapeutic use exemptions for testosterone replacement therapy during a meeting Thursday.

Skip Avansino, commission of the NAC, made the motion to ban TRT, which was supported by Pat Lundvall. The NAC regulates all contests and exhibitions of unarmed combat within the state of Nevada, including licensure and supervision of promoters, boxers, kickboxers, MMA fighters, seconds, ring officials, managers and matchmakers.

The commission voted unanimously to approve of the ban, and those that have previously received exemptions will see them expire.

Lundvall, also stated that the NAC should push other states to follow suit in order to avoid states becoming magnets for those who want to use fighters with exemptions.

In the UFC alone, fighters such as Vitor Belfort, Chael Sonnen, Dan Henderson, Frank Mir and Antonio Silva have been granted TRT exemptions for fights.

Belfort’s name is of special interest because after three straight fights in Brazil, he is scheduled to meet Chris Weidman for the UFC middleweight title in May.

The UFC issued a statement through president Dana White in support of the decision.

“The Ultimate Fighting Championship fully supports the decision made today by the Nevada State Athletic Commission regarding the immediate termination of therapeutic use exemptions (TUE) for testosterone replacement therapy (TRT). We believe our athletes should compete based on their natural abilities and on an even playing field. We also intend to honor this ruling in international markets where, due to a lack of governing bodies, the UFC oversees regulatory efforts for our live events. We encourage all athletic commissions to adopt this ruling.”